


When Wirt Started to Cry

by that_lavender_boy



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Ficlet, Gen, Not Beta Read, Tragedy, greg dies au, i just had to make it sad didnt i
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28617606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_lavender_boy/pseuds/that_lavender_boy
Summary: The winter wind bit at Wirt’s ears and nose. It clawed at his too-thin cloak and nearly whipped his hat clean off his head. The snow grabbed onto Wirt’s legs and dragged him backwards towards the ground. And there in front of him was Greg; lying still, in the center of a clearing, tangled in edelwood tree branches.***Wirt has to make a choice.
Kudos: 12





	When Wirt Started to Cry

The winter wind bit at Wirt’s ears and nose. It clawed at his too-thin cloak and nearly whipped his hat clean off his head. The snow grabbed onto Wirt’s legs and dragged him backwards towards the ground. And there in front of him was Greg; lying still, in the center of a clearing, tangled in edelwood tree branches.

That was when Wirt started to cry. _Ugly_ cry. Bits of runny snot bubbled up around his nose. His lips curled downward in the most uncomfortable way. His face was flooded with a beet red color under the skin, and tears dribbled into anything in the vicinity. His hair stuck awkwardly to the corners of his eyes as he sputtered and heaved and tried (unsuccessfully) to contain his weeping.

_No. I have to keep going. I’ll be no good to him dead._

Wirt fell to the ground in front of his brother, clawing and scraping the branches away. Some were freshly grown, but others were sturdier and didn’t budge no matter how Wirt tugged. He threw Greg’s little teapot to the ground to have more room to fight the branches. 

“You’re struggling,” a deep voice announced from the dark parts of the forest. “Your brother will not be freed so easily.”

The Beast’s spindly arms and wide branches seemed to hang over the clearing. His eyes, bright and Wirt scowled and wiped some tears and snot off on his sleeve. He knew he didn’t look even remotely threatening, but he had to at least look dignified.

“Obviously,” Wirt spat. “These branches are thick. I have thin arms.”

The Beast cocked his head to the side.

“You’re still putting your all into it,” he stated. Wirt punctuated the Beast’s words with a particularly strong tug. “You’ll not get him free like that.”

Wirt scrunched up his nose, both from the cold and out of disgust. “Well, I can’t just leave him here,” he said, panic seeping through the cracks in his voice. “He’s my brother.”

“What if I told you I could help?”

Wirt stopped for a moment. Help? This was the Beast. This was the thing that steals travelers away in the night. This was the thing that burned lost souls in the woods for his own prosperity. This thing’s voice was the death of hope. Wirt shook his head and went back to yanking fruitlessly at the ever-growing edelwood branches.

“I could put his soul in this lantern. You’d have to keep it lit, of course, but the edelwood trees are plentiful in my forest, and the oil burns like no other.”

“You’re lying to me,” Wirt croaked out. The cold was eating away at his face and throat. The wind blew through his cloak and shirt like they weren’t there at all. How had Greg lasted this long in the biting winds? How long could Wirt last before he toppled over?

“You’re out of time,” the Beast said. Wirt knew him to be right, but didn’t want to admit it to himself. He hadn’t felt his hands for at least two hours. His fingertips were starting to turn dark. 

“Take the lantern, Wirt. I can save your brother. You’ll be no good to Greg dead.”

_I was never any good to him alive, either._

With that, Wirt took the lantern.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed my pain today


End file.
